Bishop Robert Vasa's bloghttp://www.srdiocese.org/blogs/bishop-robert-vasa
enMissing the Message of These Marriageshttp://www.srdiocese.org/content/missing-message-these-marriages
<div class="field field-name-field-published-date field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">September 17, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">by Bishop Robert F. Vasa</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>If evidence is needed how wrong some media commentators can get a story, look no further than the coverage of Pope Francis’ recent action of witnessing the marriages of 20 couples, some of whom had lived together or had children together prior to marriage.</p>
<p>For instance, one Australian paper said it was the Pope making good “on his insistence that the Catholic Church welcome all faithful — not just those who obey church teaching perfectly.” Other outlets such as the <em>New York Times</em> had the same sort of observation.</p>
<p>The positive energy surrounding what Pope Francis did is edifying. One must ask, however, what he actually did that was so far from what the Church always does. Clearly, no one obeys Church teaching “perfectly” and so the implication that other Church officials only welcome the “perfect” is simply false. We are all sinners. The Church makes the sacraments, especially confession, available to us precisely because we are sinners. Sacraments are outward signs of the inner graces they give to help become less like sinners and more like Christ.</p>
<p>So what Francis has done is nothing new, much less extraordinary. And that is the real story here: The Church gave 40 men and women an opportunity to take a graced step in drawing closer to God and for some of them a turning away from a previous choice which they most likely recognized as inconsistent with God’s will for them.</p>
<p>Thus the perception that the Holy Father somehow “set aside” Church practice in his generous gesture of presiding at these 20 marriages is therefore terribly misleading and actually defamatory of this good Pope.</p>
<p>I wonder what elements of Church practice he set aside. I trust those couples, like all of the couples of every diocese of the United States:</p>
<ul><li>
were required to produce baptismal certificates (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were required to go through the marriage preparation required by the Diocese of Rome (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were required to prove freedom to marry (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were required, if necessary to go through the annulment process (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were invited and given the opportunity (I hope) to make a good confession prior to this sacramental moment (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were required to present a civil marriage license (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were required to complete the prenuptial questionnaire (standard practice);</li>
<li>
were required to recite their vows in accord with an accepted form (standard practice).</li>
</ul><p>And so it seems to me that the Holy Father, most likely, observed all of the standard formalities the Church has observed for centuries.</p>
<p>It is not typical for an officiating priest at a wedding to publicly announce that the couple was living together before the nuptials or that one or both of them had previous marriages and annulments. Doing so in this case has publicly manifested the Church’s openness to ‘sinners’ and it is this ‘proof’ of the Church’s welcome to those seeking ongoing conversion which is cause for joy. This, however, is not new though it may be news to some.</p>
<p>The charism of mercy manifested by Pope Francis is both attractive and attracting.</p>
<p>I would not, however, venture so far as to imply (as has the secular press) that this manifestation of mercy somehow excluded a call to conversion for every one of these couples. I would tend to believe every one of them recognized they wanted more from life than cohabitation or more than a simply civil form of marriage.</p>
<p>Let us rejoice for all of them that they responded to God’s graced call to conversion, His call to turn away from a previous way of life to a new life in Christ. I think this moment of conversion, which has not (unfortunately) been publicized or even mentioned, is the real story, a story of God’s merciful, redeeming and challenging grace.</p>
<p>Pope Francis clearly has a charism of love and mercy, but what he loves is the sinner, and there is nothing to imply that he in any way loves or condones the sin.</p>
<p>He loves the sinner and because of this love is not shy about calling them to reject sin and come more fully into the light of God’s love and grace.</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 17 Sep 2014 21:23:09 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa477 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/content/missing-message-these-marriages#commentsSt. Augustine and Confessionhttp://www.srdiocese.org/St._Augustine_and_Confession
<div class="field field-name-field-published-date field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">August 28, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">by Bishop Robert F. Vasa</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> As a priest I have frequently seen the beauty and effectiveness of the sacrament of reconciliation, or, if you prefer, confession. So convinced am I of its efficacy, indeed its necessity for saving souls that I frequently speak about it as a regular topic of catechesis when I travel throughout the diocese.</p>
<p>While it is perhaps possible to say, in the most legalistic and narrowly scripted fashion that confession may not be absolutely, categorically, definitively, and unequivocally “necessary” for salvation, I would, again, still maintain we need it, it is good for us, it was given to us by Jesus for our spiritual growth and advancement, and we should strive to appreciate and use this great gift of the Church as an integral part of our spiritual journey.</p>
<p>However not everyone agrees. I remember perusing a 1999 book on spirituality that addressed the question of confession’s the necessity. The popular spirituality book I received does not necessarily go so far as to deny this but it introduces a different teaching.</p>
<p>The author maintains that even serious, deliberate sin is forgiven by the fact that one enters “a church with some sincerity and contrition” in his heart.</p>
<p>He further maintains St. Augustine held this same belief. He states St. Augustine, “would tell Christians that when they stood around an altar, as a community, and prayed the Lord’s Prayer, any sins they had ever committed would be forgiven.”</p>
<p>This sounded a little inconsistent with St. Augustine’s thinking, and since the author was kind enough to provide a citation, I replicate it here.</p>
<p class="rteindent1">“Next, the Lord’s Prayer is said which you have already received and recited. Why is it said before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ? Because of our human frailty perhaps our minds imagined something which is not becoming, our eyes saw something which was not decent, our ears heard something exaggeratedly which was not fitting. If perhaps such things have been kept in because of temptation and the fragility of human life, they are washed away by the Lord’s Prayer at the moment we say, ‘Forgive us our trespasses’ so that we can safely approach the sacrament” (<em>Sermo 272, In die Pentecostes Postremus (b)—Ad Infantes, de Sacramento</em>, vol. 38).</p>
<p>I do not know how to put this gently, so I will not even try.</p>
<p>The claim that St. Augustine says that “any sins anyone has ever committed are forgiven by the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer” is quite simply a lie.</p>
<p>St. Augustine <em>does</em> say—as is the teaching of the Catholic Church—that venial sins are readily forgiven without sacramental confession. But he clearly does not include in this category “any sins they had ever committed.”</p>
<p>The context of St. Augustine’s statement is likewise very telling. He is talking to new converts. These souls are apparently very sensitive about the depth of worthiness required to receive Our Most Blessed and Sacred Lord in Holy Communion. As advice to them—since he evidently wished to prevent an undue tendency to scrupulosity on their part—he points out we are cleansed by the Lord. He implies that perhaps sometimes, through inadvertence and not through malice or forethought, someone might imagine something not decent or hear something and give undue attention to it and feel a deep remorse about these shortcomings and conclude that such things by themselves exclude from the community.</p>
<p>The kind and compassionate Augustine assures his charges that such is not the mind of the Church and consoles them with the teaching that God’s mercy is offered and received by an attentive praying of the Lord’s Prayer.</p>
<p>This is a far cry from the conclusion of the work I had perused.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while rejecting the need for confession, the author then goes immediately to the section of the Gospel of John where Jesus gives the power to forgive sins to the apostles: “Whose sins you forgive they are forgiven; whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20:23). This is interpreted as applying to every member of the Body of Christ. According to the author, “When you forgive someone, he or she is forgiven; if you hold someone in love, he or she is held to the Body of Christ.”</p>
<p>As a consequence, “Hell is possible only when one has put oneself totally out of the range of love and forgiveness, human love and forgiveness, when one has rendered oneself incapable of being loved and forgiven in that he or she has actively rejected not so much explicit religious and moral teaching and practice as the love of sincere humanity.”</p>
<p>This is most interesting. It places the responsibility for the possible salvation of one of our loved ones, not on their own freely chosen moral or immoral actions but on the community which, as long as it continues to accept them, assures their salvation.</p>
<p>I do not know where such a theory comes from or the nature of its foundation but it does not sound right. If this is the case, then Jesus should have said so very plainly. Instead, He gave the apostles the power to forgive the sins of those who were genuinely repentant.</p>
<p>The theory presented in the book is very attractive. It precludes any need for repentance, <em>metanoia</em>, conversion, or reconciliation, and only requires that someone be loved by someone else. Since Jesus undoubtedly loves each of us with a complete, perfect, personal, intimate love then in this idyllic scenario, everyone is saved. Ergo there is no longer need or reason for confession. There is no longer any need or reason to strive for holiness or to strive to do good or avoid evil. We must simply avoid alienating Jesus from us to the point where He says He can no longer love us.</p>
<p>Obviously this would never happen. The fact that such things are written by Catholic authors does not automatically assure that they reflect Catholic teaching.</p>
<p>Jesus certainly suffered, died, was buried, and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins and for our salvation. This salvation, however, is not forced on anyone. It is freely offered and must be freely received and accepted. Our desire and willingness to receive this salvation is manifested in our striving to live a Christ-like life and in our fervent and sincere repentance when we fail to do so.</p>
<p>Our growth in our commitment to live this life and to advance in holiness is certainly facilitated by Mass, prayer, Communion, and fellowship in the Catholic community.</p>
<p>However it is also aided and enhanced by our frequent and needful utilization of the sacrament, won for us by the very blood of Jesus on the cross, the wonderful sacrament of reconciliation.</p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 29 Aug 2014 00:11:17 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa469 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/St._Augustine_and_Confession#commentsBishop’s Homily for the Mass of 20 August 2014. Feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, O Cisthttp://www.srdiocese.org/Homily_20Aug14
<div class="field field-name-field-published-date field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">August 20, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">by Bishop Robert F. Vasa</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Here is the homily of Bishop Robert F. Vasa for today’s Mass:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux">St. Bernard</a> was a great preacher and teacher on the love of God, and particularly the love of God in our favor. And perhaps if he was living today he would be a great advocate and proponent of that message of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Mercy">mercy</a> so frequently proclaimed by Pope Francis and made doctrinal by Pope John Paul II and initiated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faustina_Kowalska">St. Faustina</a>.<br />
And we find a wonderful word in today’s Gospel that we don’t often consider as a portion of our relationship to God.<br />
Jesus says of the apostles and really all of us who strive to love and to serve Him a beautiful phrase:<br />
Father, they are Your gift to Me (John 17:24).<br />
Jesus is there saying to His apostles, “You are a gift to Me,” and praying to the Father and letting the disciples overhear His prayer to the Father, “Father, they are Your gift to Me.”<br />
Each of us needs to hear those words on the lips of Jesus in our own hearts and acknowledge with great joy—and great gratitude—that Jesus prays for us, “Father, they are Your gift to Me.”<br />
I think that lightens and brightens our day and our spirit to know we are so deeply and ardently loved by God, loved by Christ, that He would consider us a gift to Him.</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 20 Aug 2014 17:44:56 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa467 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/Homily_20Aug14#commentsBishop’s Homily for the Mass of 18 August 2014http://www.srdiocese.org/Homily_18Aug14
<div class="field field-name-field-published-date field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">August 19, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">by Bishop Robert F. Vasa</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In today’s first reading, “Ezekiel does something unusual … when his wife dies. He does not go into the usual” ways of mourning that people would have expected from him. He did not even weep.<br />
Perhaps his not weeping at the death of his bride especially surprised the people. But, Bishop Vasa paraphrases Ezekiel’s response to them, “You do not weep at the death of your reverence to the Lord. They are amazed at his lack of grief” over his wife’s passing, “but they are not amazed at their own lack of grief.”<br />
His Excellency then noted that our society has a similar situation. Observing this, “what affects us most is that God is not reverenced as He deserves. How much it is that we have forgotten God and how much we need Him.”</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:28:47 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa466 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/Homily_18Aug14#commentsBishop’s Homily for the Mass of 19 August 2014http://www.srdiocese.org/Homily_19Aug14
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><strong>Bishop’s Homily for the Mass of 19 August 2014. Readings: Ezek 28:1-10; Psalm: Deut 32:26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36ab; Matt 19:23-30</strong><br />
<br />
Our reading and response are certainly not the cheeriest messages in the world. And it’s complimented by St. John Eudes, whose feast day we celebrate today who, writing to his confreres, would say, “Apart from the Lord, there is only death and destruction.” Yet another cheery note.<br />
But there is truth in that, is there not? And isn’t that what Our Lord tells us? That apart from Him, we can do nothing. Apart from God, all is darkness.<br />
And all we have to do is look around at our present world and even the events of Ferguson, Missouri. “Apart from [Jesus], there is only death and destruction.”<br />
You look at Nigeria. “Apart from the Lord, there is only death and destruction.”<br />
You look at Iraq. “Apart from the Lord, there is only death and destruction.”<br />
You at the permissiveness of our own country. “Apart from [God], there is only death and destruction.”<br />
We see that. We feel it. We experience it.<br />
And perhaps many of those things are things about which we are relatively powerless, at least in terms of the world.<br />
But every one of us does have the possibility of inviting Jesus more deeply and firmly into our lives so that <em>with</em> Him there is life and spiritual prosperity. That’s what we can control.<br />
That’s where we can make our choice, a definitive choice for the Lord, knowing that He is God, and, as we are reminded in the first reading, <em>we</em> are not. <br />
</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:21:57 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa465 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/Homily_19Aug14#commentsRecapturing the spirit of St. John Vianney in a “sinless” agehttp://www.srdiocese.org/John_Vianney_pray_for_us
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span> This week’s liturgical observance of the memorial of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, on August 4 offered the opportunity to once again encourage prayer and even sacrifice for our clergy.</span></p>
<p> It is no secret that priests are quite imperfect and often even seriously flawed. Some may manifest character flaws or even personality disorders. They are, after all, taken from among men for the service of God and so bring to the priesthood many of the same flaws and faults present in the general population.</p>
<p> As we read in Hebrews, “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people” (5:1-3).</p>
<p> Despite these shortcomings, however, I have every reason to believe that practically every priest, with <em>very</em> few exceptions, possesses a strong desire to be in proper relationship to God and to offer himself as a living sacrifice for the sake of the people entrusted to his pastoral care.</p>
<p> Undoubtedly, it is not always clear that this is the case because this strong desire on his part often loses something in its translation to action. It can often happen as well that the faithful—failing to appreciate the depth of true love which their pastors manifest for them—focus much more on the flawed presentation than the love which drives it.</p>
<p> Indeed it comes as no surprise to any pastor that St. John Vianney was severely abused and derided because he called his people to chastity when debauchery was the norm, to sobriety when drunkenness was rampant, to holiness when secularity was much more popular.</p>
<p> Because he loved, however, he did not cease to challenge sinfulness and call his people to repentance. His determined love for souls cost him dearly. I strongly suspect that if St. John Vianney himself were in many of our American parishes, there would be an abundance of letters from concerned parishioners about the direction in which he was taking the parish.</p>
<p> This in no way implies that letters about priests to chanceries all across this country are not sometimes warranted. It also in no way implies our priests are comparable to St. John. What it <em>does</em> imply is that most of us do not respond well when the sinfulness of our own lives is challenged. That goes for all of us.</p>
<p> And yet the old adage about the need to “hate the sin but love the sinner” makes perfect pastoral sense, but the situation is often made very difficult when the sinner has such a solid <em>affection</em> for and <em>attachment</em> to and even <em>defense</em> of the sin that any attack on the sin—not the person, but the <em>sin</em>—is deemed an unjust and indefensible attack on the <em>sinner</em>!</p>
<p> In some ways the adage has been revised for American sensibilities so that its present rendering might go something like: “Love the sinner, and you do that by condoning the sin.”</p>
<p> It can also happen that what is determined to be sinful by the pastor—in accord with Church teaching—is not seen as sinful at all by a significant number of the faithful due to their improperly formed consciences or due to a false understanding of conscience.</p>
<p> In turn this makes preaching about sin difficult. Understandably, it is all the more difficult when the priest senses that such preaching will likely fall on deaf ears. It is not at all uncommon to encounter members of the faithful whose personal conviction is that something which is really sinful—and in many cases seriously sinful—is not sinful <em>at all</em> for them.</p>
<p> This is a clear symptom of a seriously defective formation and understanding of conscience. As the American view about the apparent acceptability of artificial contraception, homosexual unions, and abortion gets ever more firmly entrenched in our culture, the Catholic conscience is gradually eroded and thus fails to recognize any of these serious evils as sinful.</p>
<p> This shows just one reason why there is need for prayer for our priests. We all want our priests to be holy, to be prayerful, to be devoted, to be pious, to be available, to be good administrators, to be good preachers, to be personable, to be affable, to be patient, to be accommodating, to be zealous, to be on time, to be all we want them to be, and we want them to be all of these things all of the time.</p>
<p> We sometimes forget, however, that a man with great administrative skills may not be a good preacher. A man who is very pious may be more aloof and thus less personable. A man who is entirely affable may be, shall we say, administratively challenged. A man who is too available may frequently be late. A man who excels in patience may seem to lack zeal. Priests have defects and shortcomings. They all do. Again, they need prayer.</p>
<p> St. John Vianney was a most remarkable pastor. He was enormously committed to prayer and spent many concentrated hours each day at prayer. When he was ridiculed and abused, he prayed all the harder. He devoted many hours, up to 16 each day for confessions. He was entirely committed to and focused on his primary duty, the salvation of souls.</p>
<p> The face of the priesthood has changed significantly since the days of St. John Vianney, and it may appear that the demands placed on priests make the kind of single-hearted focus of St. John impossible. Yet I would argue that precisely because so much has changed since his time that it is his focus which we need to reflect upon and recapture.</p>
<p> In closing, we sometimes forget that the first of the spiritual works of mercy is to admonish the sinner. This is directly related to the salvation of souls. If someone only and always admonished people for their sinfulness, we might cite for them the adage of St. Francis de Sales: You can catch more flies with a teaspoon of honey than a barrel of vinegar.</p>
<p> Yet the danger in our day is not a shortage of honey but rather the failure to call to deep conversion all those who are drawn to the honey.</p>
<p> St. John Vianney, pray for us!</p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 08 Aug 2014 15:51:45 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa460 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/John_Vianney_pray_for_us#commentsAnnouncing a settlement to an abuse victimhttp://www.srdiocese.org/settlement_announcement
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p class="rtecenter">July 20, 2014</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking some one to devour. Resist him…</em> ” (1 Pet 5:8-9)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dear Fathers, Deacons, Consecrated Women and Men, Brothers and Sisters in Christ:</p>
<p> </p>
<p> There is nothing harder for me as a bishop, <em>as your pastor</em> than to have to announce that yet again, this diocese has recently reached yet another settlement with yet another victim of clergy sex abuse.</p>
<p> If you do not know the details, we recently agreed to pay a significant settlement to a victim of the deceased Fr. Ted Oswald. This was not his first victim. He died in 2010, however. He cannot harm anymore. Because of the settlement, the suit was dismissed.</p>
<p>Thankfully, as of this writing, we have no pending lawsuits.</p>
<p> As I noted in the news release to local media announcing the settlement, the money this child of God received will never compensate for what was taken from them. I pray and hope they will eventually find peace and tranquility.</p>
<p> I apologized for the harm done to them. I also apologized—and this apology includes you—that this perversity was allowed to persist in the Church for far too long. I have asked their forgiveness. I ask <em>your</em> forgiveness, as well.</p>
<p> Many think the Church or I as bishop has the ability to definitively root out every hint of this type of perversity. This however is a task beyond any human power. We will only accomplish this through prayer and works of penance such as fasting and giving of alms to the poor. In short, it will only happen through each of us working <em>first</em> for the conversion of our own hearts and <em>then</em> for the wider renewal of the Church. When through conversion every heart has redoubled its resolve to avoid every occasion of sin, that is the day we need no longer worry about another of these terrible horror stories happening.</p>
<p> It bears stating there <em>was</em> a public disclosure of the settlement involving Fr. Oswald in 2009, prior to the time period of this case. And when the diocese became aware of the 2008 allegations involving Fr. Oswald, it responded by removing him from ministry. It also reported the situation to the civil authorities. The diocese could not do more than the civil authorities.</p>
<p> At this time, the most important thing is to begin the healing of all involved.</p>
<p> Clearly the Diocese of Santa Rosa in California has appropriate—even trend setting—policies and procedures in place, and yet this evil still occurred. We therefore need everyone—every member of every parish, every administrator, teacher, employee, coach, volunteer, catechist, and student in every school to cooperate with them—to be vigilant and diligent now more than ever if we hope to safeguard the safety and well-being of our children and everyone else.</p>
<p> If you are an ordinary parishioner with no volunteer, ministerial, or administrative function, educate yourself about things such as warning signs, what is and isn’t abuse, and what factors might place the vulnerable at risk. Director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection Julie Sparacio often has excellent tips on how to do this in her monthly “Guarding the Vulnerable” column. You will find this in <em>North Coast Catholic</em>.</p>
<p> The bottom line is that all Catholics—especially Catholics who want to prevent the perversion of abuse from happening ever again—when we see something suspicious, we must act on it by saying something.</p>
<p> If you are your school’s or parish’s safe environment coordinator, then ensure all employees right down to the janitor and housekeeper and all who serve in a volunteer ministerial role are compliant. If you serve as a catechist or coach or volunteer, etc., make sure you have: 1) gone through the safe environment program; 2) been fingerprinted; and 3) your status is listed as compliant.</p>
<p> If you are a parent, ask to see proof that your child’s catechist or coach, for example, is compliant.</p>
<p> This incident has proven yet again we <em>all</em> need to show ever greater diligence to protect the vulnerable in our midst.</p>
<p> Let me say this: Despite our best efforts, evil may still occur. It will not ever be tolerated, however.</p>
<p> Some have questioned—understandably so—where we found the money to pay this settlement. Starting with my predecessor Bishop Daniel Walsh, this diocese has conscientiously husbanded its insurance resources for just such a calamity. Thus the victim will receive their settlement funds from insurance reserves.</p>
<p> To this end it is important to note the following:</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="rteindent2">· <em>This settlement does not come from the Capital Campaign monies;</em></p>
<p class="rteindent2">· <em>This settlement does not come from the Annual Ministries Appeal monies;</em></p>
<p class="rteindent2">· <em>This settlement will have no financial impact on your parish; </em></p>
<p class="rteindent2">· <em>This settlement will have no effect on any diocesan ministry</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> It bears repeating that the full disbursement will be paid from insurance reserves.</p>
<p> Therefore regardless of any just anger you may experience in learning of the settlement—sentiments I fully share, believe me—I would ask for your continued support for the AMA and Capital Campaign. Many worthy ministries and apostolates count on your support, support that comes from these two fundraisers, and I pray you will not take out any understandable outrage you may feel on their worthy efforts.</p>
<p> Thank you for your attention to this matter.</p>
<p> I pray that God continue to shower every good grace and blessing upon you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, </p>
<p> The Most Reverend Robert F. Vasa</p>
<p> Bishop of Santa Rosa</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:00:56 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa458 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/settlement_announcement#commentsBishop Vasa Issues Statement Supporting San Francisco’s Archbishop Cordileonehttp://www.srdiocese.org/http%3A//www.santarosacatholic.org/blogs/bishop-robert-vasa/Support_for_Cordileone
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><strong>SANTA ROSA</strong>—Bishop Robert F. Vasa, bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa issued the following statement in support of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s participation yesterday in the March for Marriage in Washington, DC.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Archbishop Cordileone is both a friend and someone I greatly admire. I find most admirable his strong desire to preserve a proper definition of marriage. As the renowned contemporary moral theologian William May says, “Marriage unites a man and a woman with each other and any children born from their union.” Marriage is thus much more than simply the public recognition of a committed relationship between two persons. </p>
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<p>I fully support the work His Excellency is doing to proclaim “the truth about marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife.” I therefore fully support his active participation in the March for Marriage held on Thursday, June 19, in Washington, DC.</p>
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<p align="center">—30—</p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:51:02 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa456 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/http%3A//www.santarosacatholic.org/blogs/bishop-robert-vasa/Support_for_Cordileone#commentsOur Area's Beautyhttp://www.srdiocese.org/Our%20Area%27s%20Beauty
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> Since becoming the ordinary for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, I have done a fair bit of driving along our roads, and I am continually amazed at the rugged beauty of the countryside.</p>
<p> Additionally, everywhere I go in the diocese, I typically find a warm group of people, eager to serve the Lord, eager and hungry for spiritual guidance, eager to grow in the Faith. This is most encouraging and positive.</p>
<p> At the same time I drive through vast territories with occasional households and wonder about these souls. I drive through the little towns and villages of 100-200 people and ponder in my heart how many are Catholic, how many go to church, how many are in spiritual need, and especially how can we as Catholics welcome and invite them to join us in the practice of faith. (This welcoming and inviting is one part of what all our recent Holy Fathers, including St. John Paul II, have meant by evangelization.)</p>
<p> At the recent Easter Vigils throughout the diocese, roughly 140 persons were baptized or received into full communion with the Catholic Church. This too is part of the evangelization process. Individuals are introduced to the Faith, they foster a kind of curiosity about it and they begin to ask questions. This brings them answers and then, God willing, they make a decision to pursue a formal process of entry into the Church.</p>
<p> This is all well and good, except that the first step, that initial introduction to the Faith, is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone is called to be an evangelizer. I assure you: You are called to be an evangelizer and you have the gifts and talents to do it!</p>
<p> When I have proposed this to individuals, with some, their eyes glaze over. Others, judging by how their pulse and breathing elevate significantly, their palms begin to sweat. Sometimes they begin to stammer, and one can almost see the wheels of the brain furiously spinning, searching for some way out, some excuse, some reprieve.</p>
<p> The gospel however compels us. If we truly believe it to be “good news,” without which there is no sure guarantee of eternal happiness and salvation, then we have an obligation to pass it on.</p>
<p> Not only that, we should have a strong desire and <em>enthusiasm</em> to pass it on. For Catholics—and most likely for most Christian denominations—the concept of walking up to someone’s door, introducing ourselves as Catholics connected with the local parish, and inviting them to a deeper relationship with Jesus is quite intimidating.</p>
<p> I understand that, but I am not talking about a theological confrontation or a full blown Bible battle. Rather, what about a simple, pleasant, and sincere invitation?</p>
<p> Perhaps one could say, I am from the local Catholic church, I have found there a good spiritual place, I have met there my Lord who is called Jesus, and I would like to share with you a bit of what I have found. Would you like to come and see what we do there?</p>
<p> There are hundreds of ways in which this dialogue could be phrased, but the key is that it is not confrontational, it is not condemnatory, rather it is the spreading of a bit of good news.</p>
<p> I can imagine that most people who have a delightful weekend at one of our state parks or local wineries would come to work on Monday enthused about the trip. They would readily share with anyone and everyone what happened, where they went, what they did, and even bring out their Smartphones to show pictures. Or they would post something on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Why not? They had good news, and their expectation is that others should want to hear about it.</p>
<p> This is not quite the same as going up to the doors of strangers and asking them if they wanted to see the pictures of your latest vacation. Then again, vacation pictures are as nothing when compared to the inestimable grandeur of the Faith.</p>
<p> If we really value and esteem our faith, if it is seen as genuinely Good News, if we hold what we believe is true, and if we fully adhere to the command to love one another, then it is impossible to keep this faith hidden. It is impossible to keep quiet about it. It is impossible to avoid being an evangelizer.</p>
<p> I have seen some beautiful things in this diocese. I have seen lovely little parishes, and I have met <em>great</em> people. It is a joy to talk about these persons and places, and they are all a kind of good news.</p>
<p> The real good news, however, is that Jesus is risen. He died for us, and He is risen. He is God’s only begotten Son, and out of love for us, He took on our human nature, and He died for us, for our salvation. He is co-eternal with the Father, and yet He took on our human nature out of love for us. Now <em>that</em> is good news. That is <em>great</em> news. That is the best news we could ever deliver to someone’s door. That is good news which a lot of the people behind those doors need and want to hear.</p>
<p> Don’t panic. I will not insist on a door-to-door campaign this year. Nonetheless, I do want to plant the seed, to start the notion, to get you to begin to consider the possibility so that as time goes on, it becomes less and less fearful and more and more desirable. God has entrusted His Good News to us not to be put under the proverbial bushel basket but to be put on a lamp stand to give light to all in the house. This is a responsibility entrusted to all of us and each of us has the obligation to let that light shine.</p>
<p> I enjoy telling people of the beauty of the North Coast, as I suspect you do as well. My friends, the Faith and God’s love are much more beautiful than the North Coast. Let’s tell people about that, as well.</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 19 May 2014 15:27:39 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa442 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/Our%20Area%27s%20Beauty#commentsBishop’s Homily for the Mass of Chrism, 10 April 2014http://www.srdiocese.org/chrism_mass_2014
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Our gathering together is an occasion of joyful expectation, not only because it is the Mass at which the sacred oils are blessed, but most especially because it is the Mass of our anniversary, the day we as priests celebrate, together, as companions that unique and wonderful priesthood which we are privileged to share.</p>
<p> My brothers, at this Holy Mass our thoughts go back to that moment when, through prayer and the laying on of hands, the bishop made us sharers in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, so that we might be “consecrated in truth” (John 17:19), as Jesus besought the Father for us in his high-priestly prayer. It is He who has consecrated us, that is to say, handed us over to God forever, so that we can offer on behalf of men and women a service that comes from God and leads to Him.</p>
<p> It is as the prophet Isaiah says in the readings tonight, “a glorious mantle instead of the kind of sadness that they perhaps bear” (Is 61:3).</p>
<p> On our day of ordination the examination involved four questions. The first concerned the general resolve to “discharge without fail the office of priesthood … in caring for the Lord’s people.”</p>
<p> It’s a pretty broad promise. We need prayer and grace to live up to it.</p>
<p> The second was to resolve … and the question is always the same: “Do you resolve …” It’s more than a wish or a whim or a desire. It’s a commitment, a pledge, a promise “to celebrate the mysteries of Christ faithfully and religiously … for the glory of God and the sanctification of Christ’s people.”</p>
<p> And we said confidently and seriously, “I do.”</p>
<p> The third involved the office of teaching and ministry of the word, including “preaching the Gospel and explaining the Catholic faith.”</p>
<p> And again we knew that a glorious mantle was being put on our shoulders, a mantle to be teachers of the Faith and the truths of our faith</p>
<p> And finally the question was posed, “Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the salvation of His people, and to unite yourself more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered Himself for us to the Father as a perfect sacrifice?”</p>
<p> To unite ourselves more closely every day so that as each year of our priesthood passes, we in fact deepen the nature of our relationship to Christ, and every year deepen our commitment to Him and draw ever closer to Him. This was the promise at the beginning of our journey, and we’re blessed in the Church every year at the Chrism Mass to have the opportunity to renew those same promises, not in exactly the same language, but to recall again those promises, to recall that day of grace when nothing that would be asked of us would be too much, no sacrifice deemed unreasonable, no commitment ever questioned because of the depth, of the fervor of our faith and the depth of our love for Christ.</p>
<p> I have no doubt that the depth of that love continues and the depth of that commitment continues, as well. And yet we do need these moments to remember, to be renewed, and to refresh ourselves in that commitment, that the mantle of priesthood might be taken up ever more joyfully anew and lived ever more faithfully and fruitfully.</p>
<p> The Renewal of Promises at this Mass reminds us of that moment in time, however many years ago, when filled with a graced, enthusiastic Spirit, we figuratively stood side by side with Christ and said with Thomas, when Jesus was preparing to go up to Jerusalem, and they said, “But they’re wanting to kill you,” and Thomas said, “Lord, brothers, let us go up to Jerusalem to be killed with Him!</p>
<p>That’s our day of ordination. Brothers, let us stand up together and go to Jerusalem with Our Lord. Pope Francis is showing us a marvelously bold and perhaps even brash way a committed, living out of the gospel. And he’s calling all of us to stand up and go into the real battle of our culture and there stand up for the teachings of Christ. All of the gospel message—and particularly for him and hopefully for us as well—that we need to refresh and renew our commitment to the service of the poor. We recognize in our service to the poor is an external manifestation of the love and charity we have for Christ in our hearts, and it’s lived out in a concrete way by our charitable presence in our community.</p>
<p>Brothers, if any element of that initial zeal for Christ and confidence in His power has begun, even if ever so slightly, to fade in the daily exercise of our duties at Mass and Liturgy of the Hours and, hopefully, our daily hour of adoration before Our Lord, then we are afforded this opportunity by the Church to be renewed in that Spirit.</p>
<p> The day of ordination also saw within us a joyfully zealous appreciation for the transformative power of the word of God. If there has been any diminishment over the years in our confidence in the power of the word of God or in the truth of the clear teachings of His Church, then here, too, we are afforded this opportunity to beg for a renewal in Spirit.</p>
<p>It is good for us to be reminded by Saint Paul that we are “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1) and are charged with the ministry of teaching the truth. As “stewards of the mysteries of God” we are given the noble task of teaching others to live and to love our faith. If they and we are to love God and to hear him aright, we need to know what God has said and is saying to us and our minds and hearts must be touched and, as Pope Francis reminds us, converted by His words.</p>
<p> My brothers, as we renew our Priestly Promises today, it is important that we truly listen to the request made of us by the Church for the sake of our people and genuinely resolve, again, to strive to make these promises ever, increasingly effective in our lives. The People of God have a right to experience and sense our zeal and love for souls. They long to sense the seriousness with which we take these promises today.</p>
<p> We can get used to the mantle of the priesthood. We can begin to take it rather for granted. And there are numerous reminders for us every day. The people come calling for us to bless them, to bless their children, to pray for them, to pray for their loved ones, to pray for healing, to simply touch some medallion of theirs so that somehow that blessing of priesthood can be taken with them. They call us when they know not where else to call because of a sense that, “We can always go to the priest. The priest is the one with the power of God. He can do something for us.”</p>
<p> We know so very well that we don’t have the power to give them often what they ask for, but we must be convinced that we always have the power of Christ to give what they need. We can give them a point of contact with God and godly things. We can give them a hope in eternal life. We can give them a sense of their dignity and worth and value, and we do that simply by being priests in their midst, by being priests for them.</p>
<p> For our part, let us treasure this dignity of the priesthood and strive increasingly to be worthy of it. Together let us strive for that humble gratitude which acknowledges, very honestly, our complete unworthiness but profound gratitude that we have been selected and chosen to be privileged to be His priests.</p>
<p> At the same time, brothers, in the cause of promotion of vocations, particularly to the priesthood, I beg you to dispel the myth that the lives we lead are so filled with trials and tribulations as to somehow deserve the sympathy of all those we encounter.</p>
<p> We know better, brothers. We know our lives are so abundantly and richly blessed that we can do nothing but give thanks to Almighty God that we have been chosen and in some measure found “worthy,” as the ordination rite says, through the laying on of hands and the ministerial priesthood. We must rejoice in that. Constantly. And we must remind ourselves on difficult days. But even on the most difficult days, we are still more richly blessed, abundantly blessed, joyfully blessed.</p>
<p> And today, finally, my dear People of God, we turn to you and ask you to pray for us. My dear people, pray for your priests as I know you do each day. Pray as the petition today asks: That the Lord pour out His gifts abundantly upon them and keep them faithful in all ways to the ministry entrusted to them by Christ, a ministry to your souls, a ministry to your eternal salvation. What greater mantle could be bestowed upon men than that mantle of leading men and women to God?</p>
<p> I can assure all of you that your prayers are not only a source of great encouragement for me and the priests, your prayers are in fact essential for the strengthening and sustaining of priests and bishops as we strive ardently to carry out our pastoral responsibilities.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:17:34 +0000Bishop Robert Vasa437 at http://www.srdiocese.orghttp://www.srdiocese.org/chrism_mass_2014#comments